Hon Grant Robertson
Minister for Sport & Recreation
7 March 2018
World-class canoe training centre opens in South Auckland
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson today officially opened the Canoe Slalom New Zealand High Performance
Training Centre at the Vector Wero White Water Park in Manukau, Auckland.
“This Centre is a world-class training environment for New Zealand. It was constructed as an add-on conversion to the
existing Vector Wero White Water Park, opened in 2016,” Grant Robertson says.
“As well as its high performance aspect, the facility allows people of all ages and abilities to ‘give it a go’, aiming
to cater for 15,000 children each year through kayaking, rafting and water safety sessions. These are important and
valuable skills for our young people to learn.”
The opening celebrations included a pōwhiri with Tainui representatives, before Rio Olympic silver medallist Luuka Jones
and World Championship bronze medallist Mike Dawson did a run of the course. A school group then took part in a Tamariki
Rafting course.
“The shared facilities approach will allow for a strong focus on activities for young people wishing to pursue white
water sport through the Momentum Hub at Wero,” Grant Robertson says.
The project is a collaboration between Canoe Slalom New Zealand, Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand
and Wero operator Second Nature Charitable Trust. In late January, the Park hosted the Canoe Slalom Oceania
Championship. Sport NZ invested $250,000 in the fit-out to upgrade the course.